Start-ups: RentSher Redefining Cricket Viewing Experience

Anybody who grew up in 80’s would remember ‘public viewing’ of cricket matches. There would be one TV set in the entire neighborhood and everyone from the neighborhood and more will gather to watch the cricket matches. It was more than just viewing the game.

Anybody who grew up in 80’s would remember ‘public viewing’ of cricket matches. There would be one TV set in the entire neighborhood and everyone from the neighborhood and more will gather to watch the cricket matches. It was more than just viewing the game. It was a community experience with shouting, hollering, expert comments and last but not least, the food.

With nuclear families and enclosed residences, somewhere this experience was missing and many were trying to find ways to rejuvenate it. A TV screen in cafeteria or apartment club house were few such attempts. But somehow this experience was not adequate.

Capturing this need many start-ups or even established businesses are coming with ideas to re-live the community viewing experience. www.RentSher.com – an online rental marketplace of anything and everything – is one such start-up. “We have created special cricket packages available on rent to provide great viewing experience for cricket fans” quotes Arjun, Head of Events at RentSher. “These packages include projectors and screens, Large screen TVs or even LED walls for organisations and malls. We are taking it up a notch by adding things such as barbeque grills, cutlery and bar accessories to these packages. Our customers include shopping malls, organizations, hotels, colleges and individuals who are simply calling their friends and family and making a party out of this”.

Others are also cashing on the opportunity. Forum mall in Whitefield and Koramangala has setup large LED walls with RentSher’s help for the entire duration of T20 World cup. It not only attracts more footfall but also provides additional sponsorship opportunities for the malls. Many brands are interested in putting their names around such viewing screens as they get largest attention span possible of specific demographics.

“We are not doing anything new here.” says Harsh, CEO of RentSher. “I recall that during India-Pakistan world cup match in March last year, all our inventory of projectors and TVs were rented out. Even large screen TV of one of the founders was booked and he had to bunk at friend’s place to view the match. This inspired us to build specific product for cricket matches.”

After all, the fundamental principal of RentSher is community sharing, may it be of products or experiences. And what better epitomizes community than a bunch of hard core fans for whom cricket is not just sport, but a religion.”